DURING the failed coup in Burundi on Wednesday and Thursday against Burundi president Pierre
Nkurunziza, nothing was heard of the fate of his wife, Denise Nkurunziza.

Like her husband,
she is a born-again Christian, but does one better. She is the only African
First Lady who has been ordained a minister of a church, and her official title
is “Her Excellency Reverend Pastor Denise Nkurunziza”.

She and her
husband have been known to hold all-night prayer meetings, and supporters claim they occasionally wash the feet of the poor, following in the footsteps of Jesus
Christ.

Nkurunziza
believes his ascendance to the presidency was a divine act.

Denise was probably
praying for her husband, and if the past is anything to do by, the Burundian
president can be expected to publicly thank her for it in the days to come.

Recent days, though,
was notable for the contrasting fortunes of former and current African First
Ladies.

In March, Simone Gbagbo, wife of former Ivory Coast
president Laurent Gbagbo, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her part in
the violence that followed the country’s 2010 presidential election.

In Madagascar,
however, the wife of the country ousted
president is seeking to turn First Lady luck around, with her party announcing that
she plans to run in elections to become mayor of the capital, Antananarivo,
Bloomberg reported.

Lalao
Ravalomanana, whose husband Marc Ravalomanana was overthrown by the Indian
Ocean island nation’s military in 2009, presented registration documents to
electoral officials on Friday, Guy Rivo Randrianarisoa, spokesman for the Tiako
I Madagasikara party, told Bloomberg by phone. She will hear whether her
application was accepted on Monday, he said.

The former
president was freed from house arrest earlier this month on the orders of
current leader Hery Rajaonarimampianina.

Ravalomanana was
detained in October 2014 after his return from exile in South Africa.

In Zimbabwe, one
of the continent’s most controversial First Ladies, Grace Mugabe, for once was
in the news for something other than allegedly trying to succeed her 91-year-old husband
Robert Mugabe, or taking down his political rivals.

Alpha Omega Dairy, which already produces regular milk, sour milk and
yoghurt, was reported to be aiming initially for Zimbabweans with a sweet tooth
with the introduction of new ice cream and chocolate products at the end of March,
but there was a delay.

The new products
are now expected be on the market within weeks.

Grace Mugabe’s
interests in dairy matters, is not unique to her. The family of Kenya president
Uhuru Kenyatta has interests in milk, too, among other businesses.

Their Brookside Dairies is Kenya’s
largest milk processor, and increased its grip on the industry with the
acquisition of three rivals in recent months, to give it control of about 55%
of the country’s dairy market.

In neighbouring Uganda, president Yoweri
Museveni prides himself as a rancher of some note, and even critics concede
that his knowledge of things to do with cows is substantial. He reportedly has cornered the fresh milk supply to the country’s largest processor, and also supplies a lot of beef.

His herd is believed to run in the
thousands, making him the country’s largest cattle keeper.